Basketball coaches have this recurring nightmare. They dream that it is late in the game, and their team still hasn’t scored. Then they wake up in a cold sweat.

Except San Diego Christian College coach Tim Cook didn’t wake up, couldn’t wake up. He was already awake, his NAIA Hawks playing at Viejas Arena on live television against a San Diego State team that has been to four straight NCAA Tournaments and opened the season by holding Division I UC Riverside to 13 points in the first half. He was calling timeouts. He was making subs. He was calling plays. He was pacing in front of his bench.

SDSU would win by an only slightly less gaudy 93-41, holding the Hawks to the lowest shooting percentage (.222) and beating them by the largest margin (52) of the 15-year Steve Fisher era at SDSU. But it was an opening burst that pulled apart the drapes to wondrous scenery of what this Aztecs team can, and might, be.

“I’ve been coaching 18 years and I’ve played longer than that,” Cook said. “They’re the best defensive team I’ve been on the court coaching or playing against … It’s incredible.”

Or that nine minutes into the game, the Hawks had eight turnovers and missed all 10 of their shots, only three of which actually hit the rim (four were air balls, three others were blocked).

Or that SDSU led 30-5 by the time the Hawks made their second basket.

“The length, the gap closes, the pinch downs are incredibly difficult to score against,” Cook said. “It’s an unbelievable defensive team. They were good defensively last year, but I think they’re great defensively this season … I’m telling you, it is so difficult to score on that team for us.”

The rest of the game was a chance for Fisher to give his bench some run and watch Dwayne Polee fly in for one fast-break dunk after another. The Aztecs (2-1) opened the second half with runs of 8-0 and 18-4, and with 3:50 to go the lead had ballooned to 58.

Davis showed flashes of why 50-plus schools pursued him last spring, finishing with his first double-double (15 points, 13 rebounds) at SDSU in just 23 minutes. He would have scored more had he not gone 3-of-9 from the line, including one that was a good 2 feet short.

It wasn’t just Davis, though. The Aztecs were a combined 11-of-25 (44 percent) on freebies, which merely kept the Hawks from losing by 60.

The only other causes for concern were the Hawks’ 16 offensive rebounds, and SDSU’s 14 turnovers against a team that played (and lost) 24 hours earlier at Div. III Redlands before a crowd of 154.